Max Baucus: “The ancient Theban poet Pindar wrote: ``The test of any man lies in action.'' That was a very provocative, very…”

“The ancient Theban poet Pindar wrote: ``The test of any man lies in action.'' That was a very provocative, very prescient, and very wise statement. The test of any man, or woman, lies in action. Today that test will be for the Senate. Today we will test whether the Senate can act to create and keep good manufacturing jobs in America. Today we will test whether the Senate can act to end European tariffs that hobble American businesses, and today we will test whether the Senate can act to extend vital benefits to the nearly 1.5 million jobless Americans who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. The coming cloture vote is the defining test for the JOBS bill. If the Senate cannot vote today to complete action on this bill, then the majority leader will move on to other business. Yes, in a perfect world every Senator would have the opportunity to offer and debate every amendment. In a perfect world, every amendment would get a vote. In a perfect world, every Senator would get home for family dinner at 6. But by the standards of the modern Senate, I believe the Senate has given this bill fair consideration. Over the course of 5 separate weeks, we have considered 28 amendments and adopted 17 of them. I think that is a respectable record. The coming cloture vote is now the test of whether we can pass the JOBS bill. The coming cloture vote is also a test of whether Senators on this side of the aisle can take yes for an answer.…”